Shiftable seat



April 7, 1931. I H, H. sEAMAN 11,799,371

SHIFTABLE SEAT n Filed July 13, 1928 Z8 INVENToR. HARO@ H SEA/1,4m

ATTORNEYS.

patented Apr. 7, 1931 HAROLD H. SEAMAN, OF MILNAUKEE, VISCNSIN, ZSSGTOR T0 SEAMAN BODY COR- PORATION, F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION 0F WISCONSIN SHEFTABL SEAT Application Zny l2?,

This invention relates to a shiftable seat construction for use on automobiles or the like and is especially designed and adapted for use with the coach and two-door sedan type of automobile body to facilitate entrance to and eXit from the rear compartment although also well adapted for universal use and application.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a shiftable seat construction of this type which in its normal position in use is positively locked and held against any movement, but which is easily shifted longitudinally and held in any one l5 of a number of adjusted positions, or which may be temporarily so shifted and positioned, while the occupant of the seat remains therein, as to provide ample space between the back of the seat and the rear door jamb whereby to facilitate entrance to and exit from the rear compartment. The occupant of the seat does not have to get out of the seat .but remains therein and effects such shifting thereof as to make it easy and convenient for a passenger to enter or leave the rear compartment.

another object of the invention is to provide a seat construction having these advantages and capacities and which is of simple and durable construction, reliable and effective in operation, easily adjusted and also easy and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

Other objects and advantages reside in cerrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspeciiication, and in which Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal vertical section taken on line 1-1 of Figure 3 and showing one form of seat construction embodying the present invention; p

Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of the seat construction in front elevation; and

tain novel features of the construction, ar-

ieee. sei-iai ne. 29234753.

Figure 4 is a view in transverse section taken on line t-l of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that a seat construction embodying the present invention proposes a mounting comprising a pair of floor guides designated generaliy at 5 which are located parallel to each other and are supported on and extend longitudinally of the fioor of the vehicle. These floor guides 5 are of identical construction and each is made up of a pair of channelshaped'guide strips designated at 6 and 7. rllhe guide `strip t is disposed in upright position next to the floor while the guide strip 7 is inverted and isfof such size that its side flanges overlap the side flanges of the guide strip 6. Further, the guide strip 7 is of less length thanthe guide strip 6 and terminates short of the forward end thereof as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The forward end of the guide strip 6 is welded or otherwise suitably secured Vto a hinge ear 8 pivotally connected as at 9 to a hinge ear 10 secured by suitable fastening means such as screws 11 to the iioor boards. rlhe channel-shaped guide strips G andi' are welded or otherwise suitably secured together and provide a tubular guide.

A pair of combined guiding and supporting members designated generally at 12 are positioned between the forward end of the base f or frame 13A of a seat 3 and the floor guides 5, t iese combined guiding and supporting members 12- being located adjacent the opposite sides of the seat as shown in Figure 3 and being of identical construction.

Each combined guiding and supporting member 12 is of substantially J-shaped form and includes a guide bar le slidably interiitted with the tubular guide afforded by the channel-shaped guide strips 6 and 7. At its forward end this guide bar 14 is integrally formed with a supporting member or section 15. At its upper end this supporting member 15 is integrally formed with a rearwardly directed attaching portion 16 secured by rivets 17 or other suitable fastening means to the base or frame of the seat'l.

To limit the extent of the sliding movement of the seat relative to the floor guides, each channel shaped strip 7 is provided in its body portion with a longitudinal slot 1S in which a screw or stud 1S) operates7 the screw or stud being threaded into the associated guide bar 14. As the screw or stud 19 has a slidingl lit in the slot 18 it does not interfere with the longitudinal shifting or adjustment of the seat, but it is engageabie 'ith the end walls of the slot 18 to limit the extent of this adjustment.

irdjacent the rearward end of the base or frame 13 of the seat, a pair of combined supporting legs and locking members designated ut 2O are pro-vided and are disjacent the opposite sides of the seat con nerative relation to the floor rated in lfigure Ll. Each coniand guides as ill bined leg and locking member 2G has a threaded shank 21 engiged with the internally threat-.ed opening provided therefor in a mormting plate embedded in a recess formed in ne under side of the base or frame 13 and securtd in position therein by fastening means such as screws 22. A lock nut and 'washer 2 co-act with the shank 21 and with the plate 22 to maintain the combined supporting legs and locking members 2O in adjusted position. Adjacent their lower ends these combined supporting legs and locking members 2() are enlarged as at enlargements are formed 25 and below tne with reduced extensions or locking studs 26 selectivel7 co-operable with any one of a plurality of keeper openings 27 formed in the channel guide strip 7. The guide bar 14 is provided with a keeper opening 28 which also receives the locking stud 2G. The combined suppoiing and guiding members 12 are constituted of metal having sufficient strength and stiffness to support the forward end of the seat, even when occupied, without any appreciable or material flexion in the supporting members or sections 15 thereof, but this metal has an appropriate degree of resiliency so that when the occupant of the seat grasps the side of the seat adjacent the rear end thereof and sways his body forwardly and pulls upwardly on the rear end of the seat7 the supporting members or sections 15 will flex suiliciently to permit the seat to move to the position shown in dash lines in Figure 1, thereby disengaging the l cking studs 26 from the keeper openings and and freeing the seat for longitudinal shifting movement. rlhis longitudinal shifting movement may be effected by the occupant of the seat by moving his body for- Yardly or rearwardly depending upon the direction in which it is desired to shift the seat. 'lhe seat responds to this impulse as the supj:ortinebars 14 are freely slidable in the floor guides provided by the channels 6 and 'l'. lf the shifting is effected to priA vide the space required to facilitate access to the rear compartment, the seat is returned to its previous adjustment or position before it is again locked against shifting movement. Locking of the seat against shifting movement is effected by relieving the supporting legs 15 of the flexion impressed thereon and trie occupant of the seat does this simply by relieving and releasing his grip on the side of the seat. This permits the supporting legs 15 to straighten out and throws the locking studs 26 back down against the channel guide strips 7 and into the underlying and registering keeper openings 27 and 28. T he provision of a` plurality of keeper openings 2? provides for the securing of the seat in any one of a plurality of longitudinal adjustments, a i feature especially desirable in connection with the drivers seat, although also advantageous in connection with either front seat as well as with seats otherwise located. The adjustability of the combined supporting and locking members 2O permits these members to be set or adjusted to obtain easy release and locking of the seat.

lirith this construction the occupant of the seat may remain in the seat and yet shift the same longitudinally to permit a pas, to enter r leave the rear compartment. lVhile having` this advantage, a very simple and comparatively inexpensive construction is had. rthe capacity which the seat posseses for tilting movement to release the locking means provi ded by the studs 2G and the keeper openings and 28 is afforded by the limited flexibility or resiliency of the supporting members 15 so that the necessity for employing hinges for this purpose is avoided. when it is desired to swing the entire seat and mounting forwardly and out of the way to remove the floor boards or for other purposes, this may be easily accomplished due to the irovision of the hinges between the f rward ends of the Hoor guides and the fioor.

l claim:

1. In combination, a seat, floor guides, combined guiding and supporting ma ibers .secured to the seat and co-operable with the loor guides to support the seat for shiftiui; movement, and combined locking` and supporting members secured to the seat and operable toihold the seat releasably against shifting` movement, said guidingand supporting members having` portions sufiiciently stiff to support the seat and suiliciently yieldable to permit such flexion thereof as to release said combined locking and supporting members.

2. ln combination. a seatv floor guides, combined guiding and supporting members secured to the seat adjacent its forward end and co-operable with the floor Guides, com- ,ined supporting leg-'s and locking membes secured to the seat adjacent its rearward end and co-operable with the floor guides and with the combined guiding and supporting members to releasably lock the seat against llO shifting movement, said combined guiding and supporting members having portions sufficiently flexible to permit the seat to be tilted to disengage the combined supporting legs and locking members whereby to free the seat for longitudinal shifting.

3. In combination, a seat, tubular fioor guides hingedly connected at their forward ends to the floorboards, combined guiding and supporting members secured to the seat adjacent its forward end and having portions constituting guide bars and interlitted with the tubular floor guides and also having portions constituting supporting portions extending between the guide members and the seat provided with attaching portions secured to the seat, co-operating means between the guide bars and the tubular guides for limiting the relative longitudinal adjustment thereof, said guide bars and said tubular guides having registering openings, and combined supporting legs and locking members adjustably connected to the seat and having locking studs co-operable with the registering opexr ings, said legs being sufficiently flexible to permit the seat to be tilted to disengage the locking studs from the registering openings.

4. In combination, a seat, tubular 'licor guides, hingedly connected at their forward ends to the floor boards, combined guiding `and supporting members secured to the seat adjacent its forward end and having portions constituting guide bars and interfitted with the tubular Hoor guides and also having portions constituting supporting portions extending between the guide members and the seat provided with attaching portions secured to the seat, said guide bars and said tubular guides having registering openings and combined supporting legs and locking members connected to the seat and having locking studs co-operable with the registering openings, said legs being suihciently flexiblf.:l to permit the seat to be tilted to disengage the locking studs from the registering openings.

5. ln combination, a seat, tubular floor guides hingedly connected at their forward ends 'to the floor boards, combined guiding and supporting members secured to the seat adjacent its forward end and having portions Y constituting guide bars and interlittcd'with the tubular floor guides and also having portions constituting supporting portions extending between the guide members and the l seat provided with attaching portions secured to the seat and combined supporting and locking means connected with the rearward portion of the seat and operable to hold the seat against longitudinal shifting movement in the normal position of the seat, said supporting portions being sufhciently flexible to permit limited tilting of the seat under the control of the operator, to release said supporting and locking means and free the seat for longitudinal shifting.

6. A mounting for a vehicle seat including interfitted guides adapted to be supported on the floor of a vehicle and adjustable longitudinally with respect to eachother and a connectionbetween certain of the guides and the vehicle seat having a limited degree of flexibility to permit tilting of the, vehicle seat and means for normally holding the vehicle seat against longitudinal shifting, said means being released upon tilting of the seat.

7. A' shiftable seatV for use in a vehicle, comprising a seat and a mounting therefor adapted to be secured to the floor of the vehicle and supporting elements at one end of the seat, combined leg and latch elements at the opposite end of the seat and rigidly securedthereto, stop means on the mounting normally engaging' with the combined leg and latch elements to prevent shifting of the seat, the said elements connecting the seat with the mounting and supporting the seat above the mounting in vertical spaced relation thereto, said elements extending between the seat and the mounting in the space between the same, said supporting elements being flexible and permitting a limited bac-k and forth tilting thereof sufficient to release the seat at the latch elements from the mounting, said supporting elements being slidably connected with the mounting to permit shifting of the seat when in forward tilted position.

8. In combination, a vehicle seat, floor guides disposed beneath the seat and arranged to extend in a direction from front to rear thereof, said guides being hingedly connected to the floor of the vehicle adjacent the front edge of the seat, guide elements cooperable with the floor guides and shiftable along the same, flexible supporting elements connected to the guide element-s and the seat, and means co-operable with the seat and the floor guides in the usable position of the seat to hold the same against shifting along the floor guides, said means in the forward tilting of the seat on the flexible supporting elements releasing the seat for shifting along the floor guides.

9. A shiftable seat for use in a vehicle, comprising a seat and a mounting therefor adapted to be secured to the floor of the vehicle beneath the seat, and supporting the latch elements at the opposite ends of the seat for connecting the seat with the mounting and supporting the seat above the mounting in vertical spaced relation thereto, said elements extending between the seat and the mounting and confined within the space between the same with the supporting elements flexible whereby the seat may be tilted back and forth thereon, said latch elements being in the form of legs carried by the seat ant being released from the mounting in the forward tilting of the seat, said supporting elements having slidable connection with UJI the mounting to permit shifting of. the seat along the mounting` when the legs are released therefrom, said legs in the usual position of the seat having interlocking engagement with the mounting to prevent shifting of the seat thereon.

In Witness whereof, l hereto alii): my signature.

HAR QLD H. SEAMAN. 

